The Patriots of New England made investments in their security room during the offseason. In addition to the editorial staff of Craig Woodson in the fourth round, they also signed Marcus Epps in a free agency and signed Jaylinn Hawkins. They also brought a player as part of their class of unlikely free agents.
Hard facts
Name: Josh Minkins Jr.
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Position: Security
Jersey number: 16
Age of opening day: 23 (1/21/2002)
Measures:: 6’1 1/8 ”, 207 lbs, 31” arm length, 9 1/8 ”Hand size, 4.54s 40 yards, 3 cone drill of 7.15s, short 4.20s shuttle, vertical jump of 38”, Sports jump of 10’8 ”, 15 Represent representatives, 9.53 Relative athletics score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Louisville (2020-23), Cincinnati (2024)
Three -star security recruit, Minkins received its first scholarship offer during its junior season at Ballard High School in Louisville, Ky. Ten others followed, the final of them coming from its hometown team, the Cardinals of Louisville. He decided not to pass this particular opportunity and joined the school in 2020.
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During the following four seasons, Minkins became a starter in the team’s secondary school. However, after appearing in 38 games with 13 departures and picked up a pair of passes, he decided to transfer to Cincinnati for his last year of eligibility. As a bearcat, he added 11 additional games plus two other interceptions to his curriculum vitae.
Minkins joined the Patriots as a free -recruited agent after the recovery of the NFL 2025.
Screening report
Forces: Standing at more than 6 feet 1 inch and 207 pounds, Minkins is a well -built player who combines the waist with achievable sporting features. Although he was not the most agile runner, he showed that Burst closed on offensive players and can turn his hips in backpedaling. He also showed the possibility of reading the quarter-tree and locating football in the air, while having versatility to align with both deep, in the box and in the slit.
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Minkins has also improved his discipline throughout his university career; After being reported four times in 2022, this number fell to one and finally zero the following two seasons. In general, he seems to be wired: he has become a leader and an important communicator in Cincinnati despite his transfer of transfer and also began to organize a free youth football camp during his career in Louisville.
Weaknesses: While Minkins published a good relative sports score during its preparation before the cog, it has not always been able to use its sporting skills in the field. He was sometimes slow in the ball and fought deeply on occasion, while taking dubious angles when he went down to make tackle attempts; The latter was a problem throughout his university career: he had a missed tackle rate of 16.6% during his stays in Louisville and Cincinnati. Consistency as a whole was a problem for Minkins.
2024 review
Statistics:: 11 games (11 starts) | 466 defensive snaps, 75 snaps of special teams | 45 plated, 9 missed plated (16.7%), 1 TFL, 1 escaped recovery | 14 targets, 8 catches rendered (57.1%), 91 yards, 1 td, 2 ints | 1 team of special teams
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Seasonal summary: After a disappointing campaign in 2023 which was disrupted by an injury to the hamstrings, Minkins decided to leave Louisville and to enter the transfer portal. A three-star transfer recruit, he initially engaged in Virginia-Western before returning to Cincinnati.
Bringing together with his former head coach, Scott Satterfield, Minkins did not take long to start playing for his new team. After having recorded six plated and three pass ruptures during his Big 12 debut, he won his first interception the following week against Pittsburgh.
Minkins missed the match of the following week with an injury, but added another int to his return to the field against Houston. Later, he also recovered an escape from a defeat against the state of Iowa in November.
His three total reversals marked a career summit in a single season and could have been the result of his modified role. After playing mainly in free security in Louisville, he was compared to the box when he arrived in Cincinnati – a role in which he seemed to be more comfortable.
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In general, his only season as a bearcat was positive for Minkins. He showed that his adaptability from cardinals, and immediately turned into a precious player for his new school.
2025 overview
Position: Multiple security | Ability: Camp’s body team candidate | Contract: Signed until 2027
What will be his role? Minkins has shown an ability to play several roles in college, and the wait is that the patriots will also move him in the hope of discovering where he adapts best in their defense. Whatever the role, however, it projects as a backup option that will have to make noise in the special teams in order to make the list or practice the team.
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What is its growth potential? Minkins has unexploited potential according to his sports tests, but he will also have to become more consistent as a processor and platform in order to stay in the NFL. If this is the case, he could transform himself into a Ro-It-Tout actor at La Défense and in the game of kicks further.
Does he have a positional versatility? Based on its university use, the answer is yes: Minkins has played everywhere in secondary in Louisville and Cincinnati, and also brings special teams to the table. Although it seems unlikely that he has several hats to start his professional career, the foundation of a role with multiple facets is there.
What is its salary ceiling situation? Minkins has signed a standard three -year -old free agency agreement with the patriots who are accompanied by a number of ceiling of $ 842,666. However, this number is not high enough to qualify it for the status of the Top 51, which means that only its signature bonus promotion of $ 2,666 is currently counted against the ceiling. His base salary, which is currently at $ 840,000, will not strike the books as long as he will not make the active list or the squad.
How much is his list sure? The patriots have an in -depth security group, and if we had to classify its individual members from 1 to 9 – the locks of the list in Longshots – Minkins would probably come in ninth. Admittedly, it is cheap and the team has seen something in it as a UDFA, but the composition of the current room and its lack of experience compared to the rest of its new teammates suggest that it faces a climb up.
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Summary: While the patriots seem mainly put in security before 2025, the future of the group beyond this coming season is less clear. As a result, keeping a development player like Minkins around the training team would make sense.
What do you think of Josh Minkins before the 2025 season? Please go to the comments section to share your reflections.
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